Carousel of refusals

Ivan Bakaidov, a St. Petersburg engineer and programmer with cerebral palsy, actively fights for the rights of people with disabilities. Recently, Ivan plunged into the problem of visiting attractions: it turned out that dozens of people with disabilities are denied the pleasure of riding. Then Ivan began a campaign to revise the rules for admitting people with central nervous system disorders to attractions. He posted a petition on the website of the Russian Public Initiative, and while the document is being moderated, he invited Takie Dela to a St. Petersburg amusement park to see how restrictions work in practice

From the glass cabin of the Ferris wheel there is a beautiful view of the Gulf of Finland and other attractions of the largest amusement park in St. Petersburg, “Divo Island”. Ivan Bakaidov stands close to the glass, holding the handrail. Heights don't scare him.

“The last time I was on the Ferris wheel was about twenty years ago, with my parents,” the line is displayed on the screen of his smartphone. Ivan communicates through the LINKa application: he types text on the keyboard, and then the message is displayed on the screen in large letters.

The circle ends, and you can already see the high-speed wheelchair left by Ivan below, with the help of which he quickly gets to any meeting point. Before visiting the park, Ivan and I agreed on what he called an “intelligent” tactic: first ask permission from the attraction operators, and only then buy a ticket.

Left: Divo Island amusement park. Right: Ivan on the Ferris wheel in Divo Ostrov park Photo: Ksenia Maksimova for TD

The Ferris wheel was the first attraction we decided to go on. Despite the prohibition sign next to the wheel, which mentions “diseases of the central nervous system,” the operator in his signature red jacket readily reports: “Yes, of course you can. Will it be necessary for you to stop the wheel?”

He looks at Ivan questioningly, but he sits up in his racing wheelchair, showing that he can stand on his own. A couple of minutes and we are already floating over the park.

Quite an emotional swing

All attractions on the “Wonder Islands” website are divided into two categories: extreme and family. Regardless of the category, the description of each of them has a prohibitive clause - “disorders of the musculoskeletal system.” There is even a sign near some attractions with a red man in a wheelchair crossed out.

They shouldn't be like that. For example, Ivan’s electric wheelchair maneuvers so deftly between park visitors that he has to make an effort to keep up. Children even tug at their parents’ sleeves: “Mom, look how cool the stroller is!”

Ivan in the amusement park “Divo Island” Photo: Ksenia Maksimova for TD

Ivan chooses the next attraction with “flight” - there is no queue, almost empty. The cameraman, a young guy, listens in confusion to Bakaidov’s self-presentation - how he pilots a plane and controls a boat. Then he waves his hand - “Go get your ticket.”

Ivan rides this attraction alone. The operator at first tries to help, but when he sees the short “I myself” gesture, he politely moves away.

After a few minutes of flight, Ivan returns to his stroller. “Yes, it’s downright scary,” he states with pleasure. “Even though I believe in engineering calculations, my legs are shaking.”

Ivan with an employee of the Divo Ostrov amusement parkPhoto: Ksenia Maksimova for TD

"Disabled" on the lake

In the telegram channel “Fucking Paralytic”, Ivan Bakaidov not only talks about his life - the development of gadgets, the experience of karting racing and flying on an airplane - but also tries to draw attention to the problems of other people with disabilities.

He recently published the story of his girlfriend Victoria. A girl with cerebral palsy lives in the Moscow region, pays her mortgage, drives a car and raises her daughter, an elementary school student named Alice.

“After the event, we met with our best friend, she was with her son, and I was with Alice,” said Victoria. — We decided to go to the carousel and ride with the children. But they didn’t let me in, citing safety reasons. I was very indignant, because I can easily transfer from a stroller to a carousel. Moreover, I was accompanied. Alice also tried to explain that her mother has the right to ride with everyone.”

Attraction "Seventh Heaven" in the park "Divo Island" Photo: Ksenia Maksimova for TD

After this publication, people from different regions began to contact Ivan and tell similar stories of refusals. According to Ivan, there were several dozen such messages - not only from people with cerebral palsy, but also from families with children with Down syndrome, from people with prosthetics and in wheelchairs. There have been cases where people with disabilities were not allowed on attractions in Sochi Park, in parks in Krasnodar, in Moscow’s “Island of Dreams” and at VDNKh, as well as in St. Petersburg’s “Wonder Island”.

A resident of St. Petersburg, who informed Ivan about an unsuccessful visit to “Wonder Island”, wrote an appeal to the prosecutor’s office. In response, the agency reported on the on-site inspection and explained: “A prohibition based on medical reasons or to ensure the safety of the visitor is not considered discrimination.” The inspectors referred to GOST standards for attractions and public prohibitions that are posted in the park and on its information resources.

“In addition, the park has a number of attractions available to all visitors, including people with disabilities; visitors can spend time on the playground, near the lake, etc.,” the department consoled.

Ivan in the amusement park “Divo Island” Photo: Ksenia Maksimova for TD

“Unfortunately, still not”

Very low, almost above the ground, the cabin of the American (or, as it is called throughout the world, Russian) roller coaster flies, from which a joyful, heart-rending squeal is heard. Ivan leads us straight to the entrance to the attraction: the roller coaster is the main goal of today's outing.

— Is it possible for a young man to take a ride? He can stand, he can walk on his own, he can sit down on his own. We can arrange an escort; we contact the operator who checks the tickets.

The young man in the red jacket frowns and looks down with noticeable anxiety, where Ivan is waiting at the base of the stairs.

“Um,” the operator drawls, “what does he have anyway?”

- He has cerebral palsy.

— Our administrator usually decides such issues. I can call him. Need to?

- Call me.

The young man presses a button on the radio and turns away. Snippets of dialogue reach us:

- It’s about admission.

-...

“Unlikely,” the operator snaps, glancing again at Ivan.

Having completed the dialogue, the operator invites us to wait downstairs for the administrator. But a few minutes pass - and instead of the administrator, he comes down to us himself: “ Sorry, unfortunately, still not.”

Ivan calmly shrugs: he expected something like this.

On the next attraction, where visitors spin at great heights in chairs suspended from chains, we are turned around even faster. The girl operator with pigtails immediately purrs about the “administrator’s decision” and invites him to call him. A negative answer comes in less than a minute.

Attractions in the Divo Island parkPhoto: Ksenia Maksimova for TD

Then Ivan returns at full speed to the attraction, where today “even his legs buckled.” I thought about going for another ride. But it turned out that during this time the park administrator had already warned all operators by radio that the young man with cerebral palsy should not be allowed in.

“If it were up to me, I would let him in again,” the young man said with regret, turning to Ivan. - You filmed this, right? Will you post it somewhere? I don’t want to get fired because I let you in.”

Having promised the young man that we will not reveal the name of his attraction, we leave the park. “Our war is not here,” Ivan remarks briefly and steers his racing stroller towards the exit.

Amusement park "Divo Island" Photo: Ksenia Maksimova for TD

“Grabbed some adrenaline”

“The feeling of going to the park is better than expected. Still, I grabbed some adrenaline,” notes Bakaidov. — At this stage, there are no complaints either to the administration or to the operators: they say that you cannot [skate] with disorders of the central nervous system. But it is not taken into account that central nervous system disorders are: a) different; b) trained. They have not yet been officially separated by degree.”

Ivan emphasizes that we are not talking about unconditional admission of people with disabilities to attractions. It just requires an individual approach, which can also be beneficial to the parks themselves - this way they will increase their potential audience. And in general, the problem lies not in safety requirements as such (some attractions can indeed be dangerous under certain conditions), but in the practice of a total ban.

Bakaidov says that restrictions often apply even to quiet family attractions: carousels, Ferris wheels, “cups.” At the same time, bans are applied haphazardly: in some cases, visitors are not allowed to enter safe facilities, but riskier ones are allowed.

Thus, Ivan’s friend Gleb, a young man with cerebral palsy, once managed to ride one of the most dangerous attractions of the St. Petersburg “Wonder Island” - “Buster”. There, at an altitude of 50 meters, the four-seater cabin makes up to nine revolutions per minute. “ I came with friends, stood in line and went for a ride,” Gleb calmly told “Such Things.” — While boarding the attraction, [the operators] asked if I could. I answered: “Yes” - and there were no more questions.”

A sign with the rules for visiting the roller coaster in the Divo Ostrov park Photo: Ksenia Maksimova for TD

“Under the American Disability Rights Act (ADA), operators are advised to rely on an individual risk assessment, rather than an automatic ban for all people with a certain diagnosis,” says Ivan Bakaidov. — Many large amusement parks in Europe use a similar approach. We need a risk classification of attractions and a more precise admission system. For example, a district neurologist or specialized doctor could issue recommendations on the categories of attractions: low risk, moderate risk, only with accompaniment, overload or lighting effects are contraindicated, and so on. Then a person with a mild form of cerebral palsy, who moves independently or drives a vehicle, will not automatically be equated with a person with a severe condition. And security will remain the same.”

Now Ivan expects that his petition to revise the rules for admitting people with disabilities to attractions will be registered on the website of the Russian Public Initiative. In particular, Bakaidov proposes to review the current regulations and internal instructions in amusement parks, eliminate “overly general and discriminatory language” from the visiting rules, and involve doctors, rehabilitation specialists and, of course, people with disabilities themselves in the development of new rules. And finally, create uniform federal recommendations for entertainment facilities. “This will be the first step towards systematically working with the problem together with legislators, lawyers and medical consultants,” explains the blogger.

Of course, given the backdrop of current events, this initiative is unlikely to meet with an adequate response from the state. However, Ivan is ready for this. And then, why not now?

Left: portrait of Lenin at Ivan’s house. In the center: Ivan using a car simulator at home. Right: Ivan’s badges from various conferences Photo: Ksenia Maksimova for TD

“We, as the legislative heirs of a society where people with central nervous system [disabilities] were not represented in roles greater than residents of a boarding school, are still faced with the absence of laws or their simplified form,” says Bakaidov. “But I look at it without emotion.” Years passed with foam at the mouth. Now I perceive [the current situation] as a task. Keep calm and fuck the system."

By the way, above the programmer’s desk hangs a copy of Andy Warhol’s painting “Red Lenin”: the leader of the proletariat looks out from the bloody fog. But Bakaid's picture is inspiring. Ilyich reminds him that “even at 56 years old you can turn half the world around.” Not like on a Ferris wheel.